Will online gun sales eventually replace local gun stores?

[MErl]

"Overhead" is a term used to refer to the ongoing expenses of operating a business.

It wouldnt apply to a nonlicensee and most certiainly is the smallest expense of any FFL.

And since this thread is about online vs local gun stores that pretty much makes the context about BUSINESS expenses.

We're quibbling at definitions. Would regulatory burden be better?

The OP used books as examples of online sales damaging local retail. The difference being that you can have most any product shipped to your door except a gun. To buy a gun you have to walk into a gun store. It may not be where you paid for it but it the only place you can walk out with it. Firearms are a rare retail case there.

Back to my initial response I see the trend leading tward more places doing used trading and transfers without stocking much in the way of new production stuff. That wont apply to everywhere but I see it as more common than a large stock of new production stuff. Easier and safer to order in what a customer wants from your distributor.

 

[AABEN]

I hope the heck that will never happen!!

 

[Warp]

No.

 

[RubenZ]

Depends where you are I guess. Most online places offer free shipping. At least most of the big ones do. Then usually all you have to pay is the transfer fee which is usually 15-50 bucks. Even with all that said and done I can usually get a gone 50-100 dollars cheaper after local taxes. Thats a big difference.

 

[TennJed]

If internet sales start hurting the LGS too much they will just start charging more money to handle the transfer and there goes the price advantage for the internet sellers. If I owned a gun store and you came in to ask for me to handle the transfer for an internet sale on a new gun, I'd tell you to pack sand or charge $500 for the service.

I am assuming you do not own a gun store because if your lack of customer service and you inability to adjust to change

 

[Somewhere in NM]

I live an hour away from the nearest LGS, and 15 min. from a friend with a FFL. It is a no brainer for me to buy guns online, like I do almost everything else except groceries and gas!

 

[Mike1234567]

^^^ Me too... except my LGS, 20 minutes one-way drive, charges 20-50 percent more than I can buy online so... effectively the same deal. Also, he has an extremely limited inventory. The big box stores are about an hour away (one-way) and I almost never drive to San Antonio anymore.

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

The simple answer to the original question: No.

 

[Armymutt]

The shop I use charges $25 for transfers. I've bought 1 gun from their stock - a Swedish Mauser that I haggled $50 off of. I've had them transfer 2 guns from online sales - one I gave them the opportunity to find, but they couldn't get it - Tikka T3 in 6.5x55 Swedish. The other was a PSA blemished lower - again, not something they stock. On the other hand, I have bought about $200 in powder and other accessories from them. They had a hell of a deal on Glock mags for a little while - $8 for factory 15 rounders.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Judging by the lines at our local gun counters............no.

 

[JohnKSa]

You can argue all you want, but lets face it, LGS don't make their money off the guns, its the ammo and accessories.

And you think that people who buy all their guns online are going to spend lots of money buying ammo and accessories from a local storefront?

I think that makes no sense at all. I have bought most of my guns from local dealers, but I have bought most of my accessories, and lately, most of my ammo online. Because it's easier to find exactly what I want and generally cheaper.

 

[nwilliams]

Will online gun sales eventually replace local gun stores?

I highly doubt it.

You can buy guns over the internet but you still need an FFL dealer to transfer the gun to an individual. There is no way an individual can can do a 4473 background check online from home and have the gun shipped to their house, there still the matter of transferring a firearm which needs to be done through FFL dealer to complete the transaction.

In reality the death of local gun shops would be catastrophic to online gun retailers because without local FFL dealers online gun shops would have no way of getting the guns you purchase from them to you.

Of course big chain stores such as Cabelas, Sportsmans Warehouse and Walmart would be around even if there were no more local gun shops but that means they would need to handle transfers.

I work at a small gun shop and online gun buying is certainly a concern but not a major one. Even with more people shopping online 2013 has been the most successful year in 30 years for us. We also charge for transfers and it really doesn't cost us anything but our time so with every transfer that we get through our shop it is almost like free money. We made many thousands of dollars this year alone just by handling transfers from people and that is not just from people buying guns off Gunbroker, that's from people buying from online gun stores such as Bud's and Impact Guns.

In reality local gun shops have more of a stranglehold on online gun retailers than the other way around. If all local gun shops started charging $200 in transfer fees nobody would buy guns online even if the guns were cheaper than what local guns shops were asking. In some ways local gun shops are doing online retailers a favor by not charging ridiculous fees on transfers and like I said it's free money to the gun shop by letting it happen.

 

[Deus Machina]

I prefer to be able to feel a gun before paying for it, at least handguns. But I'm picky.
If anything, gun stores won't go out of business--they will move into smaller, more central offices and focus more on transfers.

 

[happygeek]

The OP used books as examples of online sales damaging local retail. The difference being that you can have most any product shipped to your door except a gun. To buy a gun you have to walk into a gun store. It may not be where you paid for it but it the only place you can walk out with it. Firearms are a rare retail case there.

Very true. Guns are definitely treated differently in that aspect.

Personally I buy lots of used books from Amazon and they ship directly to me. I think the last time I bought anything in a bookstore was 3 years ago, before I discovered the wonderful world of resellers on Amazon.

I don't think I've ever bought a computer at a local store. Anymore when I do buy video games I get them from resellers on Amazon for around 1/2 price.

Come to think of it it's been over 4 years since I've bought any guns at a local store. Everything I've bought since then has been a C&R. I've often wondered what logical reason there is why everything isn't considered a curio.

 

[Mike1234567]

I highly doubt it.

You can buy guns over the internet but you still need an FFL dealer to transfer the gun to an individual. There is no way an individual can can do a 4473 background check online from home and have the gun shipped to their house, there still the matter of transferring a firearm which needs to be done through FFL dealer to complete the transaction.

In reality the death of local gun shops would be catastrophic to online gun retailers because without local FFL dealers online gun shops would have no way of getting the guns you purchase from them to you.

Of course big chain stores such as Cabelas, Sportsmans Warehouse and Walmart would be around even if there were no more local gun shops but that means they would need to handle transfers.

I work at a small gun shop and online gun buying is certainly a concern but not a major one. Even with more people shopping online 2013 has been the most successful year in 30 years for us. We also charge for transfers and it really doesn't cost us anything but our time so with every transfer that we get through our shop it is almost like free money. We made many thousands of dollars this year alone just by handling transfers from people and that is not just from people buying guns off Gunbroker, that's from people buying from online gun stores such as Bud's and Impact Guns.

In reality local gun shops have more of a stranglehold on online gun retailers than the other way around. If all local gun shops started charging $200 in transfer fees nobody would buy guns online even if the guns were cheaper than what local guns shops were asking. In some ways local gun shops are doing online retailers a favor by not charging ridiculous fees on transfers and like I said it's free money to the gun shop by letting it happen.

All the FFLs I've used work from their homes except just one which was a LGS. It's a part-time thing for them to make a few extra bucks.

 

[HOOfan_1]

Personally I buy lots of used books from Amazon and they ship directly to me. I think the last time I bought anything in a bookstore was 3 years ago, before I discovered the wonderful world of resellers on Amazon.

.

The only thing I buy much from Amazon is video games. I still buy my books brand new from a book store. I've had some bad experience with Amazon shipping me a new book beat all to pieces. I am very particular about keeping my books in near mint condition

 

[happygeek]

The only thing I buy much from Amazon is video games. I still buy my books brand new from a book store. I've had some bad experience with Amazon shipping me a new book beat all to pieces. I am very particular about keeping my books in near mint condition

To each his own. The nice thing about books is that you're free to make that choice, with firearms you're stuck trying to do a transfer

The 68 GCA really needs to get re-worked, or scrapped.

 

[HOOfan_1]

The 68 GCA really needs to get re-worked, or scrapped.

Has there been any positive gun legislation, or revocation of gun control at the national level in the past 100 years? I don't really count the sunset of the 1994 AWB, as that was written into the bill.

Maybe the Firearm Owners Protection Act...but how much teeth does that even have? Of course that also gave us the Hughes amendment.

 

[22-rimfire]

I don't have a crystal ball. My guess is that online sales will continue to increase unless there is a political component that comes into play. I expect that eventually the local gun shop who might be handling a transfer to charge more as the proportion of sales begin to lean more to online sales with a transfer. I also expect to see the local gun shop charging state and local taxes on the gun sale regardless of the source in the future. They will simply require a receipt that shows the price paid and they will collect the taxes as part of the transfer.

Gun sales are rather unique since a FFL dealer is required to be part of the total transaction. States already charge sales tax on car licensing/transfers from another state. Usually they charge the difference between what the owner paid versus the local rates.

 

[Mike1234567]

I don't have a crystal ball. My guess is that online sales will continue to increase unless there is a political component that comes into play. I expect that eventually the local gun shop who might be handling a transfer to charge more as the proportion of sales begin to lean more to online sales with a transfer. I also expect to see the local gun shop charging state and local taxes on the gun sale regardless of the source in the future. They will simply require a receipt that shows the price paid and they will collect the taxes as part of the transfer.

Gun sales are rather unique since a FFL dealer is required to be part of the total transaction. States already charge sales tax on car licensing/transfers from another state. Usually they charge the difference between what the owner paid versus the local rates.

You mean lime a national sales tax?

 

[22-rimfire]

I hope not.

 

[atomd]

There's a trend I've been noticing lately. It's the local gun shops jacking their transfer fees way up lately. One place went from $30 to $60 overnight and another went from $35 to $50 a couple months ago. They are trying to combat the internet sales and keep the business in house.

Too bad they are way wrong. The way you keep the business in house is with good customer service, fair pricing...even if it is a few bucks more than online, reasonable transfer fees when needed (you can't buy anything at any store anytime you want), hours where people can actually shop (closing at 4pm every day and only being open 4 days a week isn't exactly convenient). The shops around here just aren't getting the message. From here on out, I'm buying most large purchases online and picking it up for a $25 transfer down the road. It's kind of a shame but I think this is the way things are going to go.

What's funny is that almost every place I look at buying guns from online is an actual gun store somewhere else that does internet sales. They have good hours, good pricing, good customer service, and they ship for free or low cost. If I had them down the street I would just walk through their door instead. Places like that are here to stay.

 

[Deanimator]

Only if they repeal the Gun Control Act of 1968.

How otherwise would you get the gun you order?

 

[stevek]

I don't think brick and mortar stores will be completely shut out, especially considering the current laws. Personally, I would spend an extra 10% or so to both support a local business, and establish a relationship with my local seller. I did know of a shop or two in NJ (before we escaped ) that would charge higher transfer fees for guns/brands they carried or could order.

 

[CraigC]

People who buy on line and expect a LGS to handle the transfer would run the shop out of business faster than any attitude I would have towards your request.

I have to agree with George here. Buying a new gun from Bud's and then expecting your local shop to handle the transfer with a smile is downright rude and disrespectful. A shop can't stay open only doing transfers. Who wants to run that business anyway? I would hate to know I had to run a gun shop and depend on it to feed my family. Too many people bargain shopping online and looking for the lowest price no matter what. The problem in America is greed at every level, including the consumer level and this is a good example of that. If you bought a new gun online and came to me for the transfer, I'd double the fee.

The only guns I buy online are those I can't get new. If it's a new gun, I'll order it from the local shop. I would hate like hell to know that the only local firearms outlet was someone who only had an FFL to do transfers.